School of Medicine, and Huzhou Key Laboratory for Precise Prevention and Control of Major Chronic Diseases, Huzhou University, Huzhou, China.
School of Medicine, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, China.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2023 Nov;33(6):865-873. doi: 10.1038/s41370-023-00539-9. Epub 2023 Mar 27.
Prenatal exposure to multiple heavy metals can interfere with early neurodevelopment, lead to changes in sex hormone concentrations in children, and affect female reproductive health. To date, the influence of prenatal exposure to heavy metals on the endocrine system of children in Chinese electronic waste (e-waste) recycling areas has not been elucidated.
Four weeks after delivery, 10 mL of human milk was collected for analysis of three heavy metals (lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg)) via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Four serum steroid hormones, including progesterone, testosterone, androstenedione (A-dione), and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), were analyzed in 4-year-old children (25 boys and 17 girls). A multiple linear regression (MLR) model was implemented to investigate the association between each individual metal and serum steroid hormone. The exposure-response relationships were explored by generalized additive models (GAMs). Additionally, a Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) model was used to assess the effects of multiple heavy metal exposures on each steroid hormone.
The MLR results show a significant positive association between a natural log unit increase in Hg and DHEA levels after adjusting for confounders (β = 65.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.37, 126.62). According to the GAM, the univariate exposure-response relationship of Hg on DHEA was almost linear. However, this association was attenuated based on the multiple metal MLR and BKMR results after accounting for multiple heavy metal exposures.
Prenatal Hg exposure may affect sex hormones in children by affecting DHEA levels.
Prenatal maternal exposure to Hg may have long-term effects on the next generation. Hence, regulatory measures to reduce Hg exposure and long-term monitoring of children's health in e-waste areas are needed.
产前暴露于多种重金属会干扰早期神经发育，导致儿童性激素浓度发生变化，并影响女性生殖健康。迄今为止，尚未阐明中国电子废物（电子垃圾）回收区产前暴露于重金属对儿童内分泌系统的影响。
分娩后 4 周，收集 10ml 人乳，通过电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）分析三种重金属（铅（Pb）、镉（Cd）和汞（Hg））。对 4 岁儿童（25 名男孩和 17 名女孩）进行 4 种血清甾体激素（孕酮、睾酮、雄烯二酮（A-二酮）和脱氢表雄酮（DHEA））分析。采用多元线性回归（MLR）模型研究每种金属与血清甾体激素之间的关系。采用广义加性模型（GAMs）探讨暴露-反应关系。此外，采用贝叶斯核机器回归（BKMR）模型评估多种重金属暴露对每种甾体激素的影响。
MLR 结果表明，在校正混杂因素后，Hg 自然对数单位增加与 DHEA 水平呈显著正相关（β=65.50，95%置信区间（CI）=4.37，126.62）。根据 GAM，Hg 对 DHEA 的单变量暴露-反应关系几乎呈线性。然而，在考虑到多种重金属暴露后，基于多重金属 MLR 和 BKMR 结果，这种关联减弱。
产前 Hg 暴露可能通过影响 DHEA 水平来影响儿童的性激素。
母体产前暴露于 Hg 可能会对下一代产生长期影响。因此，需要采取监管措施来减少 Hg 暴露，并对电子垃圾区儿童的健康进行长期监测。
